PHOENIX -- The Milwaukee Bucks had lost 12 road games in a row and midway through the third quarter here Sunday, unlucky 13 appeared to be right around the corner.

But the Bucks rallied from a 15-point deficit and forward Kris Middleton scored 11 of his season-high-tying 26 points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks won for just the third time in 16 road games this season, 101-95 over the Phoenix Suns.

"We just needed a win," said Middleton, who added seven assists, one shy of a career high. "We dropped three games on this road trip so far (to the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors) and we didn't want to go home without a win. When we play like we did (down the stretch) the whole game, we have a chance to win every night."

Guard Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points for the Bucks (11-18), and center Greg Monroe added 13, including the layup with 20.6 seconds left that gave the Bucks the lead for good at 97-95.

The Suns had a chance to tie, but Carter-Williams stole the ball from guard Eric Bledsoe, and Middleton iced the game with four free throws in the final five seconds to give his team their first road win since beating the Knicks in New York on Nov. 6.

"He had a step on me and I stumbled a little bit. But I caught my balance and I saw he was trying to go up," Carter-Williams said of final matchup with Bledsoe. "I didn't want to foul and it was a risky play but I hit the ball and I ended up with it. It was a big play, but I was making my contribution. A lot of people made a lot of plays for us to get into that situation."

The Bucks had lost 20 straight games in Phoenix from 1992-2012, but have now won three of the last four at Talking Stick Arena. Milwaukee has now won back-to-back games in Phoenix for the first time since (1985-87).

Guard T.J. Warren had 14 of his 18 points in the first half for the Suns (12-17), and Bledsoe also had 18 for the Suns, who led 68-53 in the third quarter.

But the Suns watched the Bucks storm back with a 15-1 run late in the third quarter. Then after Phoenix restored the lead to 86-77 with 7:19 left, Milwaukee used three straight 3-pointers -- two by rookie guard Rashad Vaughn and one by Middleton -- to take an 88-86 lead with 5:07 left in the game.

"Vaughn was big for us tonight," Monroe said. "He's out there, and we trust him. We actually tell him to shoot more because we believe in him. As he gets more experience and more comfortable, he'll only make more shots."

Phoenix had 21 turnovers in the game and shot 38 percent in the second half to aid the Milwaukee comeback.

"We had a chance to blow the game open and then we just throw the ball all over the place," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Then defensively, once you start letting guys go you're in trouble. Middleton got going, we let Carter-Williams go where ever he wanted and then, you're in for a battle."

Forward P.J. Tucker had 12 points and seven rebounds for Phoenix, who has lost eight of its last 12 games. And a lot of those games looked like Sunday's loss with the Suns making key mistakes down the stretch.

"Even though we were up, they were still in the game the whole time and they didn't panic," Tucker said. "I think teams know that now; just keep it close and we'll do something dumb to let you win it.

"We've been unlucky. But even with some of the unluckiness it's still 85 percent us killing ourselves, not teams doing it to us."

Middleton and Monroe combined for 13 of Milwaukee's first 19 points to get the Bucks off to a good start. Middleton followed two Monroe layups with a 3-pointer to give Milwaukee an early 11-point lead at 19-8 with 5:39 left.

But the Suns finished the quarter with a 13-4 run, with forward Markieff Morris scoring seven off the bench during that span. He scored five in the final 37.5 seconds -- a 3-pointer and two free throws -- to pull Phoenix within 27-26 at the end of the quarter.

The second period belonged to Warren, who made six of seven shots and scored 12 points in nine minutes to put the Suns in front. He had eight points during a 13-5 Phoenix run, and a 3-pointer by forward Mirza Teletovic gave the Suns their biggest lead at 44-35 with 4:20 left.

The Bucks trailed 53-45 the half and 68-53 after two free throws by guard Brandon Knight gave the Suns their biggest lead with 5:43 left in the third.

That's when the Bucks started making shots and the Suns kept making mistakes.

NOTES: Suns C Tyson Chandler moved into 54th place on the all-time NBA rebounding list on Friday with 8,712 rebounds. Next on the list is Milwaukee Bucks coach and former Sun Jason Kidd, who is 53rd with 8,725 boards. Chandler and Kidd won an NBA championship together with the Dallas Mavericks in 2010-11. ... Suns C Alex Len blocked one shot Sunday, giving him at least one block in 12 straight games, the longest streak since Marcin Gortat did it in 14 straight from April 21-Nov. 17, 2102. ... Kidd on Suns G Brandon Knight, whom he coached in Milwaukee: "He works extremely hard at his craft. He's a point guard with speed who can see the floor and a true professional on and off the floor. I'm happy for what he's done." ... The Bucks came into the game ranked second in the NBA in points in the paint at 47.8, just behind the Sacramento Kings (48.2). ... Milwaukee has had seven players score in double figures four times this season, the most in the league.